Toyota strikes again with another chronology, this time about its line of trucks, SUVs and crossovers. They’re all here, and frankly, this one is a little more interesting to me on the face of it, not because of what’s conspicuous by its absence.
With its ultra-green image, due in large part to the Prius and other hybrids, it’s easy to forget that a huge chunk of Toyota’s bulletproof reputation was built because of its trucks. Anybody who’s ever had a Hi Lux, a 4Runner, or just a plain-Jane before-they-were-called-Tacomas pickup can attest to the durability of the little trucks. Having owned two vehicles equipped with them, I’m fairly sure Toyota’s old R-series engines would run even if they were filled with sand. Same goes for the original Land Cruiser, which was as hard-core an off roader as any Jeep series you’d like to mention.
What’s also interesting is a little historical footnote: Toyota was the first carmaker to bring a crossover to market. The RAV4 may have traded on cuteness, but the formula was a winner, and it spawned a whole new genre of vehicles. Anyhow, the full chronology is after the jump.
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